Chapter 61: Soul Beast Inner Pill? Qian Daoliu's Promise
"An inner pill?"
The moment those two words entered his ears, Fan Chen's mind immediately flashed to the name Ten-Headed Fierce Yang Serpent.
Back then, Tang San had slaughtered that creature and obtained an inner pill from it, which was later absorbed by Ma Hongjun. The result was a massive purification of his Phoenix Flames—even his body shape changed as a result.
If it really was this kind of thing, then it actually made a lot of sense.
"That's right. You probably haven't heard the term 'ancient soul beast' before. That's because it refers to a peculiar species that belongs neither to soul beasts nor to ordinary animals."
"Nowadays, they should already be extinct. At most, there might still be a few lingering in regions inaccessible to humans—but even then, their numbers would be extremely scarce."
There are records of such creatures in the ancient texts of the Spirit Hall. Ancient soul beasts were born from heaven and earth itself, possessing immensely powerful innate strength from the moment of their birth.
Soul beasts were different from ancient soul beasts. Killing them would not produce a soul ring, nor would a soul bone be formed. Instead, they would only leave behind a single item—something known as an inner pill.
An inner pill contained incredibly pure energy. Whether absorbed or consumed by humans or soul beasts, it would bring unimaginable benefits.
And precisely because of this, soul beasts were hunted on a massive scale. As a result, very few people today even know that such a species has ever existed.
Because the history was simply too distant, even Qian Daoliu had failed to associate this object with the legendary inner pill of an ancient soul beast at first glance.
It was only after Fan Chen's vague and half-formed explanation that he finally recalled it.
If this truly was that thing, then they had really struck gold.
Such a massive inner pill—if Qian Renxue were to absorb it, she would undoubtedly gain unimaginable benefits.
This was far rarer than a hundred-thousand-year soul ring or soul bone. After all, there was still a possibility of acquiring a hundred-thousand-year soul ring or soul bone.
But an inner pill of a soul beast—that was truly something one could only encounter by chance, never seek.
What was more, it had been sitting right in front of him for so long, yet he hadn't noticed it at all. It was only after Xiao Bai and Fan Chen took it out that he finally remembered.
"Are you really sure you want to give this to Xiao Xue? This is a soul beast inner pill—far rarer than a hundred-thousand-year soul bone."
At this moment, Qian Daoliu suddenly asked Fan Chen. He genuinely wanted to see what kind of choice Fan Chen would make now that he knew what this item truly was.
"I've already given it away. What, do you expect me to take it back? If you think I've taken a loss, how about giving me some compensation?"
As he spoke, Fan Chen grinned and shamelessly stretched out his hand toward Qian Daoliu, openly asking for benefits.
After all, he was a kid—he had privileges. Anyone who didn't use them would be an idiot.
Besides, he didn't seem to be able to use this thing himself anyway. Keeping it would just make it a decorative ornament.
And since it was a gift for Qian Renxue, he didn't feel the slightest bit of heartache. If it were given to Meng Xiaoyan, though, he would've already snatched it back by force—whether he could use it or not was another matter entirely. No benefits, no deal.
"Is that so? Then what kind of compensation do you want?"
Qian Daoliu followed Fan Chen's words, but a faint, nearly imperceptible smile appeared on his face.
"Anything's fine. A hundred-thousand-year soul ring or soul bone will do. I'm not picky."
Fan Chen replied casually, mostly out of boredom. After all, he had already given the item away—whether he got compensation or not didn't really matter.
"Alright."
Qian Daoliu agreed without hesitation.
This response startled Fan Chen so badly that he thought he had misheard.
Seeing Fan Chen's expression, Qian Daoliu repeated himself once more.
"I said, Alright. A hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone in exchange for this inner pill."
His tone was firm. Fan Chen could clearly tell that he wasn't joking—and he didn't look like the kind of person who would tease a child either.
"Uh… I was just joking. It's really not necessary."
At this moment, Fan Chen felt a little uneasy. After all, he knew very well that pies didn't just fall from the sky.
Qian Daoliu was clearly acting strange. There was probably some huge trap waiting for him ahead.
Hundred-thousand-year soul bones and soul rings were rare, yes—but it wasn't as if he had no way of obtaining them himself. Using this to test one's resolve—what kind of cadre couldn't withstand such a test?
"Afraid I'm trying to trick you? Relax. If I wanted to deal with you, I wouldn't need to go through so much trouble."
Fan Chen instantly fell silent. He felt that Qian Daoliu's words made far too much sense for him to refute.
"However, there are currently no hundred-thousand-year soul bones in the Spirit Hall. So I'll owe you for now. When you're capable of absorbing a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, come find me. I'll personally help you hunt a suitable hundred-thousand-year soul beast."
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast would definitely produce a soul bone upon death—this was common knowledge.
In other words, as long as such a soul beast was found, all of Fan Chen's demands would be met.
But that was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast—not some chicken or duck you could just kill on a whim.
"You said that yourself. I didn't force you. Xiao Xue, you heard it too—remember to testify for me later."
Although he didn't know what Qian Daoliu was planning, Fan Chen felt that what he said earlier was true.
If Qian Daoliu really wanted to deal with him, could he even escape in his current state?
Fortune favored the bold, while the timid starved. At least for now, he wasn't losing out.
"Okay."
Qian Renxue softly responded, then carefully lifted her head to look at her grandfather, Qian Daoliu, as if observing his expression.
When she saw that his face remained calm, without any unusual change, she finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
After that, Qian Daoliu examined the inner pill once more. Only then did he allow Qian Renxue to begin absorbing it.
However, he chose the Angel Temple as the location, having Qian Renxue absorb the inner pill beneath the Angel God statue.
If anything unexpected occurred, they could request the Angel God's intervention.
Fan Chen and Xiao Bai were also brought inside by Qian Daoliu, the two of them sitting around Qian Renxue.
Qian Renxue sat in the center, holding the pinkish-white inner pill in her hands, her gaze shifting between Fan Chen and Qian Daoliu.
With Qian Daoliu's nod of approval, Qian Renxue no longer hesitated and directly lifted the inner pill to her mouth.
Her snow-white teeth lightly bit down on it, and the originally hard surface of the inner pill instantly cracked.
Pure energy surged out like a raging flood.
The energy spilled forth from the crack, then, as if guided by some invisible force, streamed through Qian Renxue's mouth and into her body.
The outflow was extremely fast. In just a few seconds, all the energy within the inner pill had completely entered Qian Renxue's body.
As the energy dissipated, the inner pill itself was reduced to nothing but a thin outer shell.
In the next instant, the shell shattered in Qian Renxue's hand, turning into countless fragments that dispersed into the air.
Meanwhile, the energy gathered inside her body. With no restraints, it began to rampage wildly through her meridians.
Her soul power mixed with the inner pill's energy, making her originally spacious meridians feel somewhat congested.
Seeing this, Qian Renxue slowly closed her eyes and began carefully organizing the energy within her body.
The scattered energy gradually became more concentrated under her guidance. However, at this point, her original soul power had already begun to fuse with the inner pill's energy.
As a result, she was unable to separate the fully merged energy back out.
Just as Qian Renxue was at a loss for what to do, she suddenly remembered the concept of a soul core that Fan Chen had mentioned before.
According to Fan Chen, it involved compressing soul power—condensing what was originally loose energy into a solid form.
Using the smallest possible space to contain more soul power, forming a soul core. Once formed, circulating the soul core would drastically increase soul power recovery speed and combat strength.
While Qian Renxue was forming her soul core, Fan Chen, on the other hand, sat to the side and yawned out of boredom.
For some reason, he had been feeling unusually sleepy these past few days—as if part of his energy was being inexplicably drained away.
He had tried to find the cause, but ultimately came up empty-handed.
It seemed that this situation had started after Meng Xiaoyan arrived.
In the end, Fan Chen placed the blame squarely on her, convinced that he was being exhausted by anger because of her.
Qian Daoliu, watching Fan Chen yawn repeatedly, slightly parted his lips as if he wanted to say something—but in the end, no sound came out.
And so, Fan Chen and Qian Daoliu sat quietly inside the Angel Temple, silently guarding Qian Renxue, neither of them speaking.
The silence was suffocating, the atmosphere oddly unsettling.
As for Xiao Bai, Fan Chen kept him tightly locked at his side. He was genuinely afraid that Xiao Bai might take another shot at the Angel God statue.
If that happened, he really wouldn't be able to take it.
At that very moment, the Angel God statue suddenly glowed faintly—but neither Fan Chen nor Qian Daoliu noticed it. Only Xiao Bai, lying on the ground, glanced toward the statue's direction.
...
God Realm.
The scene inside the Angel Temple appeared within the Angel God's vision.
At this moment, shock flashed through her eyes.
"This thing is…!"
—
End of Chapter